Birmingham City Council has implemented EMC Documentum's Enterprise Content Management platform to manage documents for planning applications and construction and refurbishment projects.
The council is using the ECM platform as part of its drive to meet local e-government targets. During the roll-out, which began in December 2004, the council will scan in, store and index paper documents into PDF format. Later it plans to add voice files, photographic files, video recordings and AutoCAD images. Previously, the council had been processing planning applications using a combination of manual paper systems, electronic files and folders on shared servers and an integrated planning applications system. Each application required a paper folder containing drawings, pictures and documents. Storing the folders took an immense amount of floor space, and the contents of a file were only accessible to one person at a time.
The Documentum ECM platform has a workflow element that makes it possible to route documents automatically to the appropriate council staff, and council officers will be able to monitor the progress of applications. External contractors will also have secure access to the system.
"It's a key part of the e-government objective, streamlining processes which are expensive and error-prone," said Mike Kan, VP international field alliances at EMC Documentum.
The council hopes that the solution will help them to meet its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act so that if a member of the public asks for a status update on a particular application, the council will be able to provide the information. It also plans eventually to give the public access to relevant documents on its website. "Once content gets into the repository it can be reused and repurposed rather than recreated," said Kan.
If the implementation is successful, the council is planning to roll the product out to other departments such as Social Services. The ability to store multiple documents relating to individuals will give the council a single view of the citizen.
Autor: Kim Thomas
Quelle: IT Week, 06.05.2005
